A host of equipment, electronic devices, instruments, and gauges are used on ships, such as clocks, barometers, radio control clocks, comfort meters, tide clocks, temperature gauges, etc. It is often desirable for many of these nautical instruments to be mounted to a surface within the ship, such as a control deck, bulkhead, or other surface, during use.
In existing instruments, mounting is typically achieved by extending screws or bolts through holes in the casing of nautical instrument and into the desired surface. Such nautical instruments are undesirable in that the mounting requires the use of a tool, such as a screwdriver or wrench. Moreover, the screws or bolts are visible from the front face of the instruments, resulting in a less pleasing aesthetic appearance. Furthermore, securing the rear surface of the nautical instrument's housing directly against a surface of ship results in moisture and other possible contaminants getting trapped between the two. Trapped moisture and/or contaminants can negatively effect the accuracy and functioning of a nautical instrument. Finally, repetitive mounting and removal of such a nautical instrument damages the surface within the ship because the screws/bolts repetitively penetrate and make new holes in the ship's surface.
In other existing nautical instruments, mounting is achieved through the use of a bulky box-like casing in which the nautical instrument is inserted and locked into place. These box-like mounting systems, however, are less than optimal in that they occupy a lot of precious room in a ship's cabin. Moreover, such box-like mounting systems are not compatible with many instruments.
Some nautical instruments are designed to be mounted to the surface of a ship by utilizing a number of relatively inaccessible components that make removal of the instrument relatively burdensome. In still other instances, some nautical instruments are mounted on a lift bracket (or pedestal) located externally from the dashboard or desired mounting surface within the ship. Mounting on these brackets does not firmly secure the instrument to the ship. Further, the positioning of the device outside of flush alignment with a surface of the ship leaves the instrument exposed to damage by outside sources.
The above-noted deficiencies are compounded by the fact that it is oftentimes desirable to remove certain nautical instruments from the ship each and every time the user leaves his/her ship. For instance, some electronic nautical instruments allow the user to exchange information between the instrument and a personal computer. Generally, it is less burdensome to remove the instrument from the ship rather than move the computer onto the ship. Furthermore, in some cases, it may be desired to use a single nautical instrument with a number of different ships by transferring the instrument from one ship to another.
Most commonly, however, nautical instruments are removed from the ship to prevent theft of the device. Theft is of particular concern with unguarded boats docked in public marinas. Thus, a nautical instruments is required that facilitates easy removal and mounting of the nautical instrument in a ship.
An additional problem is that existing nautical instruments do not stand up well against the harsh conditions experienced on a ship. For example, existing brass nautical instruments tend to tarnish very easily, thereby reducing their aesthetic appeal considerably. Most brass cased nautical instruments are laquered for tarnish protection. However, most laquers that permit maximum brass luster offer minimal life protection and partially wear away or easily scratch and chip, thereby rendering the exposed brass vulnerable to oxidation. While polishing the instrument with certain chemicals provides short term restoration and further erosion of the brass, such a temporary fix is unsatisfactory.
Finally, many nautical instruments tend to lose their water-tight attributes over time, which for obvious reasons, is undesirable.